Mariah's Zepher

Friday, October 21, 2016

I went to my mentor
Valencia King Nelson’s house before the AAHGS Conference in Atlanta Georgia started
on October 12, 2016.

AAHGS is a genealogy
based organization and hosts genealogy conferences in different states.

I had a wonderful time with MS V, Angela
Walton RaJi, and B.J. Smothers.

MS V, Angela Walton RaJi, David Patterson

But let me tell you when I was there,
I made an epic fail.

I love my coffee and when at home in Phoenix I
can pour a cup, put in a spoon of creamer and drink until my heart’s content.

Now there was
coffee all right, but for the first time in my life I saw coffee in a small
package.

I tore off the top and poured
the coffee in the cup of hot steaming water. Put in the creamer and stirred and
stirred and stirred.

After about ten mins I said, “what the heck is wrong with
this coffee?” Good Grief, "I have been stirring this for a good ten minutes and the crystals
will not melt . Look at All these
little black coffee grinds swirling around"

Mentor: Did
you use hot water

Me: Yes

Mentor:
Where’s the little bag

Me: What bag?

Mentor: The
bag that you use to put in the cup to steep the coffee

BJ, David,
Angela and Mentor: giggling!

Mentor: Here, let me show you

Who ever heard of
coffee disguised as a tea bag?

Maxwell House did and I
have to admit it was good. In fact it was good to the last drop.

That is without the coffee
crystals ….LOL

When the conference was
over and I arrived back in Phoenix I went straight to the kitchen to make a cup.

What awaited me was
coffee that looked like it was in an Acorn bag!

Where oh where is my
Percolater?What happened to my can of ground coffee?LATISHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

Not to be confused with
another Maxwell the R&B singer who brews out the soulful song Pretty Wings.

Speaking of House, let
me introduce you to Wannel House, an awesome lady who gives of herself with
loads and loads of information she posts on Find A Grave with Harrison County Texas roots.

I have never met her in person but contacted
her about twenty years or more when I
saw something that she had put online. We have been in contact ever since.

Wanell has an ancestor by the name of Peter
Choyce who was prominent in Harrison County.

Mr Choyce was born
around 1823 in Jasper County Georgia, married Ms Sarah Gilstrap and had several children.

Monday, October 10, 2016

Soon the time will come
when folks will hopefully vote for the person of their choice. It has been so
much division these last eight years that it seems as if the forward strides
have now gone backwards.The shoulders that others have so unselfishly lifted us on and the shoes that others have
worn have left footprints in are crying in shame. The Gap Band:

Tulsa Oklahoma can
boast that they had a pretty popular group in the 1970’s and 1980’s headed by
brothers Charlie, Robert and Ronnie Wilson.

The group was initially named after Greenwood, a street and neighborhood
in Tulsa and changed later to The Gap Band.

Some of the songs they put out were Early In
The Morning and Yearning For Your Love. Charlie one of the brothers went on to
become a solo singer.

The band retired
after about thirty years together and left a gap in Rhythm and Blues music with their
unique style.

Bandstand:

This case refers to the popular show American Bandstand that
started out in Philadelphia for years before they moved to California. The host was the popular Dick Clark.

I for
one missed out in watching the show over a year because of the title. I assumed
incorrectly that the show was one of those dull talk shows that included fixer uppers,
gardening and other topics.

Boy was I wrong.

When I did start to
watch, I fell in love with the dancing because to me, the Philly teens could
really dance.

Pat Mollitere was one of my very favorite
dancers who passed away at the young age of 36. When the show moved to
California they left a gap in Phillies dance styles.

Rest in Peace Pat

Standing InThe Gap:

In July 18, 1867 in
Harrison County Texas my 4th great grandfather Chas Dixon registered to vote
along with my 5th great grandfather Jos Tolbert. This is evidenced by the Voter Roll found on Ancestry

The roll states that Chas Dixon had been in the precinct for 3 years, county for 6
years and also the state for 6 years.

Jos Tolbert had been in the precinct for 6 years and the
county and state for 14 years.

I have found no
evidence that these two brave men actually voted after registering.

As for me,
I do affirm that I have registered to vote and have voted in every election
since I was old enough.

If Chas and Jos were alive and could not vocally say that they voted, I stand in the gap for them.

I would bet my bottom dollar that they did cast their ballots and placed them in a voters
box. Yes They Did!

In Grimes
County Texas I also have found my 2nd great grandfather Louis Cooper had registered
to vote on the 29th day of July 1867. That he was in the precinct for 3 months the county
for 12- years and state for 12 years .

I have found no evidence that he actually voted
in any upcoming election .

I do make the
claim that I would bet my bottom dollar that Louis Cooper also cast his vote in
that wooden voters box in an upcoming election and I stand in the gap for you
in saying Yes I Did!

Thursday, June 16, 2016

I grew up in a household where my mom was our sole provider. She doted on us and gave us everything we “needed”.

I would also say that growing up we did not dwell on our mother being a single parent. She had long been divorced and her main focus was her kids.

I could nominate my mother

I could nominate my mother for she was, in my eyes, both. From time to time us kids would do little things to say how special she was on father’s day for us. However this is a tad different.

This is behind the capitol different. From 21st to 27th Avenue different

There were many families that I knew that had fathers in the home. There are three that stand out in my mind as I go back in time. One of those three was in the military and was gone much of the time, but when he was there he was there emotionless.

I secretly said to myself that he acted like he would rather be back playing soldier than to be home with his wife and kids.

The other father was there in the home but as I recall he was not a very affectionate person with his children. I just remember him sitting in a chair watching TV. Again another emotion-less father.

All the laughter and sounds came from his wife and his children to each other.

Aha!

The third was an active father who when not working was in the home. He laughed and teased his children, all of them. Two of his children were born to this wife before he even knew her. However his love for them was the same as those four he had with the love of his life.

They worshipped together, ate dinner together and spent time with other family members together.

There are those of us who secretly or silently wish we had a father in our life just like this man I am speaking of.

I am not jealous that I was “not” lucky enough to have a father like that. I just marvel that my dear friends experienced a father’s love. You could tell in their eyes and faces that they felt the same way about their dad. This man I truly admire:

My Pick for The Back Behind The Capitol Father:

I take this time to say Happy Father's Day Wishes Mr. Fredrick Douglas Hurd.

I bet your parents Henry and Theresa Conner Hurd were very proud of you when you entered into their life that January day in Richland Texas.

Oh, and thanks go to your children . They have been wonderful friends in my and my family’s life for well over fifty plus years.

What a resourseful person you were too. I say that because you were the first person I ever knew that cooked outside on the grill durn near every night in the summertime to save energy.

Now everyone I know does that. See how you may have started a trend.

Just so you know, I remember you saying that you knew Lola Falana.

As a kid I would think "who in the world is Lola Falana.”I heard that name so much that I would sing, Lola, Lola Falana lalalalala Lola Lola Falana.

Then one day, I heard someone say Welcome Lola Falana!!!!

I ran into the room where the tv was and saw her for the first time. She was very pretty. (Not as pretty as your wife though) But she was real and you knew her….Lola, Lola Falana lalalalala.

I did get mad at Mr Hurd once because I thought I was going to get beat to death by my mom.

I went to Texas for a visit with my aunt who lived in Marshall. I was around 16 I think.

When it was my time to return, I called my mom to pick me up at the train station downtown.

On the way, the train had to stop in El Paso Texas because of a bad snow storm. We were already scheduled to get in late at night anyway.

Since there were no cell phones back then, there was no way to call mom to tell her we were stranded.

My mom waited and waited. The station was empty.

She called my aunt in Texas who told her that she had put me on the train.

Sometime during that time, mom saw Mr. Hurd who worked at the station and asked if he had seen me.

He then relayed to her that the train probably had come in and gone according to the schedule.

When I did get in, I called mom to pick me up and that I finally arrived. Boy was mama pissed. It took everything I had to get her to believe me. Mama did not play!

Mom finally talked to the people at the station, and found out that yes, the train was held up by a snow storm and that yes, there was no notice at the station of bad weather.

My moment of being mad at Mr. Hurd was over then too because he was reading what the board said. I promise you, I did not roll my eyes; I was too busy trying not to get a whipping.

Speaking of families sticking together you and yours all were in Richland Texas in 1940. Wow and to think I was around all you guys in Phoenix in later years.

Here is a 1940 Newton County Texas Census via Ancestry

This is the excerpt of the same census

You are also in my book of wonderful back behind the Capitol dads because you picked a wonderful partner to spend your life with.

I am sure your loving wife Carol Campbell Hurd is looking after you down here on earth.

Happy Heavenly Salute To Other Fathers From Back Behind The Capitol in Phoenix Arizona.